What is the "real" difference between a NAS and NFS? Or, why pick a NAS device over "mere" NFS?
- by warren
From an end-user perspective, what is the difference between a NAS device and using NFS exports from a file server?
They seem to accomplish the same end result.
The difference between a SAN and other file storage is related (in my experience) to how they are connected to the server infrastructure.
However, the difference between a NAS, connecting over a standard ethernet port, and NFS (sharing storage off specific servers, also over the network), seems more nebulous.
Is there a good reason to pick a NAS filer over just running NFS on servers?